The union representing early childhood educators has condemned the Albanese government’s failure to boost their pay in the federal budget, signalling it will bring a multi-employer bargaining claim within weeks seeking a 25% pay rise.
Helen Gibbons, the director of early childhood education at the United Workers Union, said it was “very likely” it would make an application on behalf of thousands of educators shortly after new industrial laws take effect on 6 June.
“We want to make an application as soon as we possibly can,” Gibbons told Guardian Australia, revealing it will make an application under the new supported bargaining stream for a multi-employer pay deal affecting providers across the nation.
Gibbons said the union would take a “national approach to what is a national problem, because early childhood educators are paid badly everywhere”.
She said a “significant uplift [in pay] is required” because from July educators will be paid 15% less than aged care workers after a successful work value case in that sector, and are already “paid less than retail” workers.
The UWU sought a 25% pay increase in its pre-budget submission, and received some support from the women’s economic equality taskforce. It said early childhood educators needed a raise in “recognition of the historical undervaluation of their work and the urgent need to retain and attract workers to the sector”.
The Albanese government committed $11.3bn for the Fair Work Commission-ordered 15% pay rise for aged care, $70m for professional development of early childhood educators and a $9bn increase in childcare subsidies, but did not provision for a pay rise for that sector.
In November the government passed the secure jobs better pay bill, which expanded options for multi-employer pay deals, including replacing the low-paid bargaining stream with the supported stream.
Gibbons said the UWU had been preparing for an application for months, including sector-wide meetings with employers and peak bodies.
Some large childcare providers which already have pay deals with their workforce cannot be included in the multi-employer claim at first, but Gibbons said the UWU hoped after an “initial application” it would be able to roll out the claim “to different groups of employees over time”.
“Early childhood education has a workforce crisis that will only get worse as it becomes more viable to work in aged care,” she said.
“Early childhood educators are highly qualified, professional, and mostly women. We are looking for an increase off a low base.
“We’re really disappointed there was nothing earmarked in the budget for early educators’ wages, particularly because the demand will only increase due to the more generous subsidies.”
The supported stream would include the federal government around the table with employers, which Gibbons said reflected its “pivotal role” in funding the sector and therefore determining employees’ wages.
“We are really hopeful about the process … We’re excited to fix the chronic undervaluation of our members’ work once and for all.”
While not ruling out the possibility of an equal pay or work value case, Gibbons said these were “lengthy and expensive process”.
“We want to have a genuine tripartite conversation to fix this undervaluation quickly and efficiently, not watch lawyers slug it out in the Fair Work Commission.”
The early childhood education minister, Anne Aly, said: “We understand the importance of getting wages moving – particularly in low-paid, female-dominated sectors, like early childhood education and care. That’s exactly why we passed the Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws last year.”
“It’s wonderful to see parties, including unions and employers, getting ready to use the pathways available under the Fair Work Act to pursue wage increases.
“We won’t pre-empt the outcomes of any bargaining processes, but are continuing to work with the sector and union and will participate in negotiations at the right time during the process.”
Asked after the budget about the omission of early childhood educators’ pay, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, told the Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast that since Labor “set up this new system” of bargaining it “makes sense to see if it will work when it comes to bargaining for these big workforces”.
